New car sales in South Africa saw a healthy uptick in July but light commercials continued to perform poorly, according to the latest figures from automotive industry body Naamsa.
Aggregate domestic sales of 44,229 units were 1.5% up year on year compared to July 2023, which Naamsa welcomed as a possible turning point for an improved performance after a depressed market in the first half of the year.
Sales of new passenger cars rose to 29,934 units last month, a 6.8% gain over July 2023. However, light commercial vehicles including bakkies and minibuses at 11,554 units fell 8.8% over the same period, partly driven by a big drop in sales of the Toyota Hi-Ace which moved just 477 units last month compared to 1,347 in July 2023 as banks tighten up their lending criteria in response to a surge in bad debts.
The performance comes off the back of marginally improving economic conditions, returning consumer and business confidence in the wake of four months of consistent electricity supply, and the hope of some budget relief for consumers during the second half, said WesBank.
Though aggregate new vehicle sales for the year to date remained 6.3% below the corresponding period in 2023 and despite various challenges and elements of economic uncertainty, car manufacturers and importers continue to launch new products into the marketplace, said Naamsa.
“Encouraging aspects for growth and increased consumer spending for the balance of the year include four consecutive months of no load-shedding, a stronger rand exchange rate, and potentially up to two interest rate cuts before year-end,” said Naamsa CEO Mikel Mabasa.
Lebo Gaoaketse, head of marketing and communication at WesBank, said: “The return of some confidence into the market is reflected in demand as measured by WesBank’s rate of applications, which had returned to growth after two months of year-on-year declines. Hopefully, this continues to translate into more optimism for the second half.”
Toyota retained its spot as Mzansi’s favourite brand last month with 11,131 new car sales and had seven models in the top 20 sellers including the new Starlet Cross mini SUV which moved an impressive 590 units despite being on sale for less than a month.
The second most popular brand was Volkswagen group (6,178), Suzuki (4,816), Ford (2,901), Hyundai (2,699), Isuzu (2,072), Nissan (1,884), Chery (1,701), GWM (1,562) and Renault (1,210) completing the top 10.
The Toyota Hilux continued its run as the country’s favourite model, ahead of the Volkswagen Polo Vivo and Ford Ranger.
TOP 20 SELLING CARS — JULY 2024
- Toyota Hilux — 3,021
- VW Polo Vivo — 2,591
- Ford Ranger — 2,258
- Isuzu D-Max — 1,641
- Toyota Corolla Cross — 1,547
- Hyundai Grand i10 — 1,269
- Toyota Starlet — 1,222
- Volkswagen Polo — 1,211
- Cherry Tiggo 4 Pro — 1,153
- Nissan Magnite — 1,052
- Suzuki Swift — 1,045
- Haval Jolion — 868
- Toyota Vitz — 864
- Mahindra Scorpio Pik Up — 790
- Suzuki Baleno — 772
- Toyota Fortuner — 727
- Suzuki Ertiga — 704
- Toyota Urban Cruiser — 635
- Suzuki Fronx — 620
- Toyota Starlet Cross — 590
These were South Africa’s best selling cars in a more positive July
Naamsa welcomed a possible turning point for vehicle sales after a depressed market in the first half of the year
Image: Supplied
New car sales in South Africa saw a healthy uptick in July but light commercials continued to perform poorly, according to the latest figures from automotive industry body Naamsa.
Aggregate domestic sales of 44,229 units were 1.5% up year on year compared to July 2023, which Naamsa welcomed as a possible turning point for an improved performance after a depressed market in the first half of the year.
Sales of new passenger cars rose to 29,934 units last month, a 6.8% gain over July 2023. However, light commercial vehicles including bakkies and minibuses at 11,554 units fell 8.8% over the same period, partly driven by a big drop in sales of the Toyota Hi-Ace which moved just 477 units last month compared to 1,347 in July 2023 as banks tighten up their lending criteria in response to a surge in bad debts.
The performance comes off the back of marginally improving economic conditions, returning consumer and business confidence in the wake of four months of consistent electricity supply, and the hope of some budget relief for consumers during the second half, said WesBank.
Though aggregate new vehicle sales for the year to date remained 6.3% below the corresponding period in 2023 and despite various challenges and elements of economic uncertainty, car manufacturers and importers continue to launch new products into the marketplace, said Naamsa.
“Encouraging aspects for growth and increased consumer spending for the balance of the year include four consecutive months of no load-shedding, a stronger rand exchange rate, and potentially up to two interest rate cuts before year-end,” said Naamsa CEO Mikel Mabasa.
Lebo Gaoaketse, head of marketing and communication at WesBank, said: “The return of some confidence into the market is reflected in demand as measured by WesBank’s rate of applications, which had returned to growth after two months of year-on-year declines. Hopefully, this continues to translate into more optimism for the second half.”
Toyota retained its spot as Mzansi’s favourite brand last month with 11,131 new car sales and had seven models in the top 20 sellers including the new Starlet Cross mini SUV which moved an impressive 590 units despite being on sale for less than a month.
The second most popular brand was Volkswagen group (6,178), Suzuki (4,816), Ford (2,901), Hyundai (2,699), Isuzu (2,072), Nissan (1,884), Chery (1,701), GWM (1,562) and Renault (1,210) completing the top 10.
The Toyota Hilux continued its run as the country’s favourite model, ahead of the Volkswagen Polo Vivo and Ford Ranger.
TOP 20 SELLING CARS — JULY 2024
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